The Johns Hopkins GTPCI was initiated in 1993 as a joint effort of the University's Schools of Medicine and Public Health. The Program has matriculated 72 physician-investigators over the past nine years into a year-long didactic curriculum which is then followed by at least two years of mentored clinical research leading to thesis publication and the award of either a M.Sc. or Ph.D. degree. In 1990 this program was awarded a K30 Curriculum Development Award which now provides enhanced administrative, mentoring, and curriculum structures. The missing link for this multidisciplinary clinical research training program has been a way to pay for stipend and tuition costs for the early training pathway of qualified clinical postdoctoral fellows who are suitable for this rigorous program. The current application for the new K12 Mentored Clinical Research Scholar Program Award will enable us to fill this gap. The long-term objective of this training program is to strengthen, enhance, and evaluate a model for training superior clinical investigators, with which we already have gained considerable experience; and to extend some of its benefits to a broader group of clinical investigators both within and external to Johns Hopkins. The K12 award will substantially support this objective, by providing complementary resources which will: (1) encourage applications for GTPCI training from aspiring clinical investigators who otherwise might not be supported; (2) permit more active and direct participation by GTPCI program faculty in the selection, encouragement and mentoring of physician-investigators being trained by the program; (3) provide transitional support beyond an original three-year commitment to those trainees with the highest level of performance and potential; and (4) strengthen this multidisciplinary and interschool training program faculty through their active involvement in the implementation of this training grant. Additional anticipated benefits include strengthening the working relationship between the GTPCI and our GCRC programs, opening the potential GTPCI participation by talented clinical investigators trained outside of Johns Hopkins, and enhancing the visibility, effectiveness and success of future careers in patient-oriented research at our Institution.